Airport struck by vandalism

Airport struck by vandalism

October 28th, 2010 in News

Elton Hensley Memorial Airport was the site of vandalism last week when an individual or individuals broke a series of runway lights.

"Approximately 40 of the runway lights appear to have been knocked over," Fulton Director of Administration Bill Johnson said, estimating the damages at approximately $5,000. "The runway lights are designed to break over, so if a plane were to hit one while landing it would not cause any damage (to the plane)."

Despite that design, he said it was obvious the broken lights at the airport were the result of a deliberate action.

"Somebody definitely did it on purpose - (the damage is on) both sides of the runway on both runways," Johnson said. "The police are investigating."

In the meantime, he said the airport is operating on limited hours."This is a serious safety hazard. The airport is out of service during nighttime hours until it gets fixed," Johnson said. "As soon as we can get parts and get them installed, we'll be open again."

He said the lights that need repaired involve common parts, but they must be ordered from specific sources and the repair itself is labor-intensive.

"You have to go out to each light and disconnect the wiring, replace the light and then reconnect the wiring," Johnson said.